Toronto film festival unveils Docs, Midnight Madness, Vanguard

Organisers unleashed their latest volley of programming, an embarrassment of riches featuring new non-fiction work about education activist Malala Yousafzai, Russia’s Bolshoi Theatre, the immediate aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo attacks and the iconic tango pairing of María Nieves and Juan Carlos Copes.

Midnight Madness brings a Turkish glimpse of hell, new work from the directors of Almost Human and The Loved Ones, a cyborg POV story and Jeremy Saulnier’s Green Room, which premiered in Cannes and backer Broad Green Pictures recently made available for US distribution after electing not to self-release.

The Masters Of Cinema programme features Jafar Panahi’s Taxi, Alexander Sokurov’s Francofonia and Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Our Little Sister, while the TIFF Cinematheque selection of restored classics includes Luchino Viconti’s Rocco And His Brothers and Marcel Ophüls’s The Memory Of Justice.

TIFF DOCS

“Emotions run high in this year’s documentaries from passionate performers to angry protestors,” said TIFF Docs programmer Thom Powers. “These films truly command the big screen with their artistry across many forms of documentary – observational, essayistic, historical and investigative.”

MIDNIGHT MADNESS

“Midnight Madness winds up festival audiences as the days are winding down and they are hungry for more,” says Colin Geddes, international programmer for the festival. “From adrenaline-filled action and untamed horror to twisted comedy and darkly blurred lines of reality, this year’s line-up welcomes back celebrated masters and fresh visionaries of renegade genre cinema.”

Baskin (Turkey), Can Evrenol WP

The Devil’s Candy (US), Sean Byrne WP

The Final Girls (US), Todd Strauss-Schulson

The Girl In The Photographs (US), Nick Simon WP

Green Room (US) Jeremy Saulnier NAPGreen Room is preceded by the previously announced short film The Chickening from directors Nick DenBoer and Davy Force.

VANGUARD

“Delving into the dark side of humanity and dangerously sexy, this year’s Vanguard lineup has something unique for everyone,” said international programmer Colin Geddes. “We’re leading audiences into a wild world of emotional sensations, demons and strange sea creatures - delivered with Vanguard’s distinctive twist on storytelling.”

Collective Invention(Dolyeon Byeoni) (South Korea), Kwon Oh-kwang WP

Demon (Poland-Israel), Marcin Wrona WP

Der Nachtmahr (Germany), AKIZ NAP

Evolution (France), Lucile Hadžihalilović WP

February (US-Canada), Osgood Perkins WP

Lace Crater (US), Harrison Atkins WP

Love (France), Gaspar Noé NAP

Men & Chicken(Mænd Og Høns) (Denmark), Anders Thomas Jensen NAP

My Big Night (Mi Gran Noche) (Spain), Álex de la Iglesia WP

The Missing Girl (US), A.D. Calvo WP

Veteran (South Korea), Ryoo Seung-wan NAP

Previously announced Canadian titles in the Vanguard programme include André Turpin’s Endorphine, Bruce McDonald’s Hellions and Mark Sawers’ No Men Beyond This Point.

TIFF CINEMATHEQUE

“We believe that cinema has a rich heritage that must be protected, celebrated and preserved for current and future generations. This year’s TIFF Cinematheque line-up highlights our commitment to both preservation and restoration,” said TIFF programmer Brad Deane. “We’re thrilled to present some of the best new digital restorations along with some beautiful new 35mm prints, embracing both the future of the medium as well as the past.”

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